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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Charge trapping correction and energy performance of the Majorana Demonstrator

P-type point contact (PPC) high-purity germanium detectors are an important technology in astroparticle and nuclear physics due to their superb energy resolution, low noise, and pulse shape discrimination capabilities. Analysis of data from the Majorana Demonstrator, a neutrinoless double-β decay experiment deploying PPC detectors enriched in 76 Ge, has led to several novel improvements in the analysis of PPC signals. Here, in this work we discuss charge trapping in PPC detectors and its effect on energy resolution. Small dislocations or impurities in the crystal lattice result in trapping of charge carriers from an ionization event of interest, attenuating the signal, and degrading the measured energy. We present a modified digital pole-zero correction to the signal energy estimation that counters the effects of charge trapping and improves the energy resolution of the Majorana Demonstrator by approximately 30 % to around 2.4 keV full width at half-maximum at 2039 keV, the 76 Ge Q value. An alternative approach achieving similar resolution enhancement is also presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for flavour-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark and the Higgs boson in events with a pair of $τ$-leptons in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) $tqH$ interactions involving a top quark, another up-type quark ($q = u, c$), and a Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson decaying into a $τ$-lepton pair ($H$ → $τ$ + $τ$ - ) is presented. The search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Two processes are considered: single top quark FCNC production in association with a Higgs boson ($pp$ → $tH$), and top quark pair production in which one of top quarks decays into $Wb$ and the other decays into $qH$ through the FCNC interactions. The search selects events with two hadronically decaying $τ$-lepton candidates ($τ$ had ) or at least one $τ$ had with an additional lepton ($e, µ$), as well as multiple jets. Event kinematics is used to separate signal from the background through a multivariate discriminant. A slight excess of data is observed with a significance of 2.3$σ$ above the expected SM background, and 95% CL upper limits on the $t → qH$ branching ratios are derived. The observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits set on the $t → cH$ and $t → uH$ branching ratios are 9.4 × 10 -4 (${4.8}^{+2.2}_{-1.4}$ × 10 -4 ) and 6.9 × 10 -4 (${3.5}^{+1.5}_{-1.0}$ × 10 -4 ), respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the dimension-6 operator Wilson coefficients in the effective $tqH$ couplings are $C$ $c$φ < 1.35 (0.97) and $C$ $u$φ < 1.16 (0.82).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined IV: The age of the universe and its curvature

A precise measurement of the curvature of the Universe is of prime importance for cosmology since it could not only confirm the paradigm of primordial inflation but also help in discriminating between different early-Universe scenarios. Recent observations, while broadly consistent with a spatially flat standard Λ Cold Dark Matter ( Λ CDM) model, show tensions that still allow (and, in some cases, even suggest) a few percent deviations from a flat universe. In particular, the Planck Cosmic Microwave Background power spectra, assuming the nominal likelihood, prefer a closed universe at more than 99% confidence level. While new physics could be at play, this anomaly may be the result of an unresolved systematic error or just a statistical fluctuation. However, since positive curvature allows a larger age of the Universe, an accurate determination of the age of the oldest objects provides a smoking gun in confirming or falsifying the current flat Λ CDM model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Search for Higgs Boson Decays into a Z Boson and a Light Hadronically Decaying Resonance Using 13 TeV pp Collision Data from the ATLAS Detector

A search for Higgs boson decays into a Z boson and a light resonance in two-lepton plus jet events is performed, using a p p collision dataset with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb–1 collected at √ s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC. The resonance considered is a light boson with a mass below 4 GeV from a possible extended scalar sector or a charmonium state. Multivariate discriminants are used for the event selection and for evaluating the mass of the light resonance. No excess of events above the expected background is found. Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to a Z boson and the signal resonance, with values in the range 17–340 pb ($16^{+6}_{– 5}–320^{+130}_{–90}$ pb) for the different light spin-0 boson mass and branching fraction hypotheses, and with values of 110 and 100 pb ($100^{+40}_{–30}$ and $100^{+40}_{–30}$ pb ) for the $η_c$ and J/ψ hypotheses, respectively.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for resonant and non-resonant Higgs boson pair production in the $b\overline{b}{\tau}^{+}{\tau}^{-}$ decay channel using 13 TeV $pp$ collision data from the ATLAS detector

A search for Higgs boson pair production in events with two $b$-jets and two $τ$-leptons is presented, using a proton–proton collision dataset with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Higgs boson pairs produced non-resonantly or in the decay of a narrow scalar resonance in the mass range from 251 to 1600 GeV are targeted. Events in which at least one $τ$-lepton decays hadronically are considered, and multivariate discriminants are used to reject the backgrounds. No significant excess of events above the expected background is observed in the non-resonant search. The largest excess in the resonant search is observed at a resonance mass of 1 TeV, with a local (global) significance of 3.1$σ$ (2.0$σ$). Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits are set on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair-production cross-section at 4.7 (3.9) times the Standard Model prediction, assuming Standard Model kinematics, and on the resonant Higgs boson pair-production cross-section at between 21 and 900 fb (12 and 840 fb), depending on the mass of the narrow scalar resonance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for Baryon Number Violation in Top Quark Production and Decay Using Proton-Proton Collisions at $\sqrt{𝑠}$ = 13 TeV

A search is presented for baryon number violating interactions in top quark production and decay. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb −1 . Candidate events are selected by requiring two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons) and exactly one jet identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are used to separate the signal from the background. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed. Upper limits are placed on the strength of baryon number violating couplings. For the first time the production of single top quarks via baryon number violating interactions is studied. This allows the search to set the most stringent constraints to date on the branching fraction of the top quark decay to a lepton, an up-type quark (𝑢 or 𝑐), and a down-type quark (𝑑, 𝑠, or 𝑏). The results improve the previous bounds by 3 to 6 orders of magnitude based on the fermion flavor combination of the baryon number violating interactions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Discrimination of electronic recoils from nuclear recoils in two-phase xenon time projection chambers

We present a comprehensive analysis of electronic recoil vs. nuclear recoil discrimination in liquid/gas xenon time projection chambers, using calibration data from the 2013 and 2014-16 runs of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. We observe strong charge-to-light discrimination enhancement with increased event energy. For events with S1 = 120 detected photons, i.e. equivalent to a nuclear recoil energy of ~100 keV, we observe an electronic recoil background acceptance of <10 –5 at a nuclear recoil signal acceptance of 50%. We also observe modest electric field dependence of the discrimination power, which peaks at a field of around 300 V/cm over the range of fields explored in this study (50-500 V/cm). In the WIMP search region of S1 = 1-80 phd, the minimum electronic recoil leakage we observe is (7.3 ± 0.6) 10 –4 , which is obtained for a drift field of 240-290 V/cm. Pulse shape discrimination is utilized to improve our results, and we find that, at low energies and low fields, there is an additional reduction in background leakage by a factor of up to 3. We develop an empirical model for recombination fluctuations which, when used alongside the Noble Element Scintillation Technique (NEST) simulation package, correctly reproduces the skewness of the electronic recoil data. We use this updated simulation to study the width of the electronic recoil band, finding that its dominant contribution comes from electron-ion recombination fluctuations, followed in magnitude of contribution by fluctuations in the S1 signal, fluctuations in the S2 signal, and fluctuations in the total number of quanta produced for a given energy deposition.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for single production of vector-like T quarks decaying into Ht or Zt in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a search for the single production of an up-type vector-like quark (T) decaying as T → Ht or T → Zt. The search utilises a dataset of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector during the 2015–2018 data-taking period of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb ₋1 . Data are analysed in final states containing a single lepton with multiple jets and b-jets. The presence of boosted heavy resonances in the event is exploited to discriminate the signal from the Standard Model background. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL upper limits are set on the production cross section of T quarks in different decay channels. The results are interpreted in several benchmark scenarios to set limits on the mass and universal coupling strength (κ) of the vector-like quark. For singlet T quarks, κ values above 0.53 are excluded for all masses below 2.3 TeV. At a mass of 1.6 TeV, κ values as low as 0.35 are excluded. For T quarks in the doublet scenario, where the production cross section is much lower, κ values above 0.72 are excluded for all masses below 1.7 TeV, and this exclusion is extended to κ above 0.55 for low masses around 1.0 TeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for new physics using effective field theory in 13 TeV pp collision events that contain a top quark pair and a boosted Z or Higgs boson

A data sample containing top quark pairs ($\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$) produced in association with a Lorentz-boosted Z or Higgs boson is used to search for signs of new physics using effective field theory. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions produced at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC and collected by the CMS experiment. Selected events contain a single lepton and hadronic jets, including two identified with the decay of bottom quarks, plus an additional large-radius jet with high transverse momentum identified as a Z or Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark pair. Machine learning techniques are employed to discriminate between $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$Z or $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$H events and events from background processes, which are dominated by $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ + jets production. No indications of new physics are observed. The signal strengths of boosted $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$Z and $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$H production are measured, and upper limits are placed on the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$Z and $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$H differential cross sections as functions of the Z or Higgs boson transverse momentum. The effects of new physics are probed using a framework in which the standard model is considered to be the low-energy effective field theory of a higher energy scale theory. Eight possible dimension-six operators are added to the standard model Lagrangian and their corresponding coefficients are constrained via fits to the data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Low-diffusion Xe-He gas mixtures for rare-event detection: electroluminescence yield

High pressure xenon Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on secondary scintillation (electroluminescence) signal amplification are being proposed for rare event detection such as directional dark matter, double electron capture and double beta decay detection. The discrimination of the rare event through the topological signature of primary ionisation trails is a major asset for this type of TPC when compared to single liquid or double-phase TPCs, limited mainly by the high electron diffusion in pure xenon. Helium admixtures with xenon can be an attractive solution to reduce the electron diffusion significantly, improving the discrimination efficiency of these optical TPCs. We have measured the electroluminescence (EL) yield of Xe-He mixtures, in the range of 0 to 30% He and demonstrated the small impact on the EL yield of the addition of helium to pure xenon. For a typical reduced electric field of 2.5 kV/cm/bar in the scintillation region, the EL yield is lowered by ~ 2%, 3%, 6% and 10% for 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% of helium concentration, respectively. This decrease is less than what has been obtained from the most recent simulation framework in the literature. The impact of the addition of helium on EL statistical fluctuations is negligible, within the experimental uncertainties. The present results are an important benchmark for the simulation tools to be applied to future optical TPCs based on Xe-He mixtures.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

First Observation of Λπ + and Λπ - Signals near the $\bar{K}$N⁡(I=1) Mass Threshold in Λ$^+_c$ → Λ⁢π + ⁢π + π - Decay

Using the data sample of 980 fb -1 collected with the Belle detector operating at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + ⁢e - collider, we present the results of an investigation of the Λ⁢π + and Λ⁢π - invariant mass distributions looking for substructure in the decay Λ$^+_c$ → Λ⁢π + π + π - . We find a significant signal in each mass distribution. When interpreted as resonances, we find for the Λπ + (Λ⁢π - ) combination a mass of 1434.3 ± 0.6⁢(stat) ± 0.9⁢(syst) MeV/c 2 [1438.5 ± 0.9⁢(stat) ± 2.5⁢(syst) MeV/c 2 ], an intrinsic width of 11.5 ± 2.8⁢(stat) ± 5.3⁢(syst) MeV/c 2 [33.0 ± 7.5⁢(stat) ± 23.6⁢(syst) MeV/c 2 ] with a significance of 7.5⁢σ (6.2⁢σ). As these two signals are very close to the $\bar{K}N$ threshold, we also investigate the possibility of a $\bar{K}N$ cusp, and find that we cannot discriminate between these two interpretations due to the limited size of the data sample.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurement of single top-quark production in association with a W boson in the single-lepton channel at $\sqrt{s} = 8\,\text {TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector

The production cross-section of a top quark in association with a W boson is measured using proton–proton collisions at √s = 8TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb –1 , and was collected in 2012 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The analysis is performed in the single-lepton channel. Events are selected by requiring one isolated lepton (electron or muon) and at least three jets. A neural network is trained to separate the tW signal from the dominant tt¯ background. The cross-section is extracted from a binned profile maximum-likelihood fit to a two-dimensional discriminant built from the neural-network output and the invariant mass of the hadronically decaying W boson. The measured cross-section is σ tW = 26 ± 7pb, in good agreement with the Standard Model expectation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass in the H → ZZ*→ 4ℓ decay channel using 139 fb –1 of s = 13 TeV pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The mass of the Higgs boson is measured in the H→ZZ * →4ℓ decay channel. The analysis uses proton–proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 . The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is 124.99 ± 0.18(stat.) ± 0.04(syst.) GeV. In final states with muons, this measurement benefits from an improved momentum-scale calibration relative to that adopted in previous publications. The measurement also employs an analytic model that takes into account the invariant-mass resolution of the four-lepton system on a per-event basis and the output of a deep neural network discriminating signal from background events. This measurement is combined with the corresponding measurement using 7 and 8 TeV pp collision data, resulting in a Higgs boson mass of 124.94 ± 0.17(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.) GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evidence for $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ production in the multilepton final state in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ $\text {TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for four-top-quark production using an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 of proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are selected if they contain a same-sign lepton pair or at least three leptons (electrons or muons). Jet multiplicity, jet flavour and event kinematics are used to separate signal from the background through a multivariate discriminant, and dedicated control regions are used to constrain the dominant backgrounds. The four-top-quark production cross section is measured to be $24^{+7}_{–6}$ fb. This corresponds to an observed (expected) significance with respect to the background-only hypothesis of 4.3 (2.4) standard deviations and provides evidence for this process.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in a final state containing leptons and many jets with the ATLAS experiment using $\sqrt{s}=13\hbox{TeV}$ proton–proton collision data

A search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in final states characterized by high jet multiplicity, at least one isolated light lepton and either zero or at least three b-tagged jets is presented. The search uses 139fb –1 of $\sqrt{s}=13\hbox{TeV}$ proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The results are interpreted in the context of R-parity-violating supersymmetry models that feature gluino production, top-squark production, or electroweakino production. The dominant sources of background are estimated using a data-driven model, based on observables at medium jet multiplicity, to predict the b-tagged jet multiplicity distribution at the higher jet multiplicities used in the search. Machine-learning techniques are used to reach sensitivity to electroweakino production, extending the data-driven background estimation to the shape of the machine-learning discriminant. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are extracted, reaching as high as 2.4 TeV in gluino mass, 1.35 TeV in top-squark mass, and 320 (365) GeV in higgsino (wino) mass.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observation of Same-Sign W W Production from Double Parton Scattering in Proton-Proton Collisions at s = 13 TeV

The first observation of the production of W$^\pm$W$^\pm$ bosons from double parton scattering processes using same-sign electron-muon and dimuon events in proton-proton collisions is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. Multivariate discriminants are used to distinguish the signal process from the main backgrounds. A binned maximum likelihood fit is performed to extract the signal cross section. The measured cross section for production of same-sign W bosons decaying leptonically is 80.7 $\pm$ 11.2 (stat) $^{+9.5}_{-8.6}$ (syst) $\pm$ 12.1 (model) fb, whereas the measured fiducial cross section is 6.28 $\pm$ 0.81 (stat) $\pm$ 0.69 (syst) $\pm$ 0.37 (model) fb. The observed significance of the signal is 6.2 standard deviations above the background-only hypothesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurement of the $c$-jet mistagging efficiency in $t\bar{t}$ events using $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ $\text {TeV}$ collected with the ATLAS detector

A technique is presented to measure the efficiency with which c-jets are mistagged as b-jets (mistagging efficiency) using tt¯ events, where one of the W bosons decays into an electron or muon and a neutrino and the other decays into a quark–antiquark pair. The measurement utilises the relatively large and known W → cs branching ratio, which allows a measurement to be made in an inclusive c-jet sample. The data sample used was collected by the ATLAS detector at √s = 13 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 . Events are reconstructed using a kinematic likelihood technique which selects the mapping between jets and tt¯ decay products that yields the highest likelihood value. The distribution of the b-tagging discriminant for jets from the hadronic W decays in data is compared with that in simulation to extract the mistagging efficiency as a function of jet transverse momentum. The total uncertainties are in the range 3–17%. The measurements generally agree with those in simulation but there are some differences in the region corresponding to the most stringent b-jet tagging requirement.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for Heavy Neutral Leptons in Decays of $W$ Bosons Using a Dilepton Displaced Vertex in $\sqrt3$ = TeV $pp$ Collisions with the ATLAS Detector

A search for a long-lived, heavy neutral lepton ($\mathscr{N}$) in 139 fb -1 of $\sqrt3$ = TeV $pp$ collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. The $\mathscr{N}$ is produced via W → $\mathscr{N}$ μ or W → $\mathscr{N}$e and decays into two charged leptons and a neutrino, forming a displaced vertex. The $\mathscr{N}$ mass is used to discriminate between signal and background. No signal is observed, and limits are set on the squared mixing parameters of the $\mathscr{N}$ with the left-handed neutrino states for the $\mathscr{N}$ mass range 3 GeV < $m$ $\mathscr{N}$ < 15 GeV. For the first time, limits are given for both single-flavor and multiflavor mixing scenarios motivated by neutrino flavor oscillation results for both the normal and inverted neutrino-mass hierarchies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗